369 Shanghai Dim Sum

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beef noodle soup

Another meal, another bowl of beef noodle soup...this time at 369 Shanghai Dim Sum in Markham at Peachtree Centre/New Kennedy Square. Like the name suggests, they serve all the usual Shanghainese(?) stuff like steamed pork soup dumplings and whatnot....but I just went for lunch so I just got the noodles.

But anyway, a bowl of beef noodle soup here costs $6.25 + tax/tip. Beef was decent, nice and soft though they use the beef shank which some people might prefer but I personally don't. Soup was ok and I thought would have been better if it were a bit spicier. The noodles I thought had a good texture...but still just a pretty average bowl of beef noodle soup.

369 Shanghai Dim Sum (at Peachtree Centre/New Kennedy Square)
8380 Kennedy Rd
Markham, ON
RATING:

Made In China Hot Pot Restaurant

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the sauce tray / MEAT

Hot pot this time...Made In China Hot Pot in Scarborough close to Midland/Finch right beside the korean bbq place. A bit nicer looking than some of the other hot pot places I've been to, dinner on a weekend cost us $17.99 + tax/tip a person with drinks included (all you can iced tea/pop/plum juice). Late night menu is also offered after 10pm for $15.99 + tax/tip.

Selection was good with too many things to comment on individually but I'd say they had all the hot pot bases covered and then some. There was MEAT (beef/pork/chicken/lamb), BALLS (beef, fish, a different kind of fish...and a different kind of beef), innards (tripe, intestine, spam?), noodles (yellow noodles, udon), and vegetables (uhh green ones). We also got a one time plate of seafood, with oysters and shrimp and salmon and such. Selection for the sauces was also good though if you ever want to refill or make adjustments you have to ask for the tray back...and for the eggs.

I'm starting to sound repetitive here but the service was also pretty good...maybe a bit too good according to my friend Wey when they kept taking away his garbage plate lol. But other than that, servers were constantly refilling our drinks and pots (though only with water, not soup) and taking away empty trays. Another thing to note is this place has dessert because what's better than ice cream after eating like 10 plates of beef and lamb?

Overall I was pretty surprised with Made In China Hot Pot and would definitely consider returning....though not for a while...or anywhere with beef or lamb for that matter...no more meat...

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seafood plate / no more meat

Made In China Hot Pot Restaurant
3280 Midland Ave
Scarborough, ON
RATING:

Free Burger King breakfast sandwich - Friday Sept 18

Pixel 8 Lounge

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Pixel 8 in Markham is a japanese ramen type place that also serves bubble tea...I think. To be honest I really didn't get a good look at the menu because I went there for one reason only, $6.99 prime rib. I love prime rib and I love being cheap so when I heard of this special I was all over this like icing on a pie. After a few delays I finally ended up going last week and it was certainly worth the wait.

The prime rib lunch special ($6.99 + tax/tip) comes with your choice of rice or ramen, black or green tea, and of course the prime rib...well you can just look at the picture. This wasn't advertised on the menu and was only shown on one of those plastic standing things that they had hidden by the counter which we had to ask for....so yea, they're kind of sneaky like that.

Just to be clear, this is a restaurant that mostly serves ramen and it's $6.99 so obviously this wasn't going to be steakhouse quality meat. So was it good? Well maybe not when you compare it to other places but other places don't sell their prime rib for $6.99 either. So I guess a better question is was it $6.99 good? And I'd say it sure was.

It came covered in a peppercorn sauce and was cooked fine though I'd probably ask for it rare next time instead of medium rare. The ramen was just ok, nothing special about it at all, but I'd still recommend it over the rice just for sheer value (unless you just love your rice). And finally the black tea...it wasn't black milk tea like I was expecting but at least it was still something other than water or hot tea.

So prime rib for $6.99? How can you go wrong? ....I guess unless you get sick.

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prime rib lunch special - black tea, ramen, prime rib

Pixel 8 Lounge
50 Bur Oak Ave.
Markham, ON

Rainbow Speedy Snacks & Drinks

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green milk tea with tapioca

A while ago I wrote about Fruitti Mix in the First Markham food court being the cheapest bubble tea I knew of ($2.25/tax in). Recently a new place, Rainbow Speedy Snacks & Drinks (also in the First Markham food court), matched that price so of course I had to try. Now even though Fruitti Mix doesn't have the best bubble tea, it's cheap and it's tasty while Rainbow Speedy Snacks & Drinks...well it's just cheap.

I got a green milk tea with tapioca ($2.00/tax in) which was actually cheaper than what was advertised. I assume price this also applies for black milk tea and the extra 25 cents is only for powdered flavours giving this place the title of cheapest bubble tea...but too bad it's not any good. The tea itself wasn't sweet at all and the tapioca was way too firm and chewy. A friend got a taro milk tea with tapioca ($2.25/tax in) which was also pretty bad, saying it tasted really powdery and wasn't mixed well enough.

So unless you're really cheap and need to save that 25 cents, I'd recommend Fruitti Mix over this place as the bubble tea here...prettay prettay preettaaaaay bad.

Rainbow Speedy Snacks & Drinks (in the First Markham Place food court)
3255 Highway 7 East
Markham, ON

Day & Night Firewood Steakhouse

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lobster soup

A few of us ended up going to Day & Night a little while ago for lunch. For pure value Day & Night does pretty well in that department as all of their lunch combos come with lobster soup, bread, and unlimited access to their all-you-can-salad bar (which some of us seemed to enjoy more than others lol). The salad bar itself isn't too special...it has...salad and just some random fruits and vegetables but there's just something about a buffet that makes you want to try and fit as much food as you can on a plate like so. Also did I mention it's unlimited?

all you can salad

I ended up getting some sort of....well I don't remember what it was called on the menu but it was pieces of cut up steak with pasta in a tomato sauce ($8.99 + tax/tip) which I ate like a quarter of and mixed all up before I remembered to take a picture. The pasta wasn't bad and neither was the steak though the pieces of meat were cut up pretty small so I wasn't able to judge that well the quality of the meat...but it was good enough for lunch. The rest of the guys all got the lunch special which was a steak with noodles in a tomato broth ($9.99 + tax/tip). This apparently wasn't very good though...something about steak sitting in a bowl of soup which I'd imagine not going well together.

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semi eaten steak with pasta in tomato sauce / steak with noodles in tomato broth

Day & Night Firewood Steakhouse
2 Fenton Road
Markham, ON

Macau/Portuguese Food

Hainanese Chicken

One day the guys and I went to a place recommended by one of our friends in the Peachtree Foodcourt. Apparently, this place has one of the best pork chop rice and the chef used to work for a hotel back in Macau (how he ended up in the foodcourt of a mediocre chinese mall will remain a mystery). I was about to order the pork chop rice as well until I saw the sign “Famous Hainanese Chicken Rice”. Sticking with the pact, I ordered the Hainanese Chicken ($5.99 + tax) in the end.

I was in a bit of a dilemma of what I would expect from this place. On one hand, it’s in the foodcourt so I don’t expect a lot, but on the other hand, it’s made by a chef who previously worked in a famous hotel in Macau, which means that it must be good. Anyways, the food came and I was surprised by a few things. First off, they gave me the chicken separately in a box, which means more quantity because they actually had to fill the box. The quality of the chicken was also very good, as it was tender and flavourful. The rice, however, was a bit too dry and did not have the genuine Hainanese Chicken rice that I would expect. There wasn’t a soup that came with the meal too, but that didn’t change what I think of this meal much. Overall, a good meal for the price that I paid, although I hope their rice would improve overtime.

Pork Chop Rice

On a separate note, Jon ordered the pork chop rice ($5.50 + tax) along with the rest of the guys. He highly recommends the rice as it has good quality, sauce and quantity. He was pretty full at the end of the meal and from what I observe, it is also a good meal for the price considering there was so much pork chop and rice in the dish.

Macau/Portuguese Food (Peachtree Center Foodcourt)
8392 Kennedy Street
Markham, ON